wytco0

;-) I would certainly jump at £1086 for J, I don't thin k we will see that again though or even 1500-1600. Having been to Oz more than 25 times already and always in Y I agree its a long way ;-)

I have some flexibility in dates but I need to be there from about 15/4-1/6 but arriving earlier or leaving later is fine.

angeloedades

This is a good find Horatio. Have looked at options to go 2-4-1 half way and with cash for the rest - never thought that PEK would be good option ^

Horatio

Well it certainly wasn't top of my list when I started looking! It was so much better than all the other options. Unsurprisingly, getting to Aus over Christmas/NY and an Ashes Tour is quite expensive...

Hope helpful.

mandolino

Hi - we are going to Aus (in Syd, out MEL) in J and November using BA partner award from ABZ.

That is, using J award to Singapore which was very available a couple of months ago.

Award flights from there to SYD or MEL were hardly worth it because of the extra added costs so we're staying o/night in Singapore and have booked Scoot (now merging with Tiger) SIN-SYD in Business, then returning from MEL to SIN by regular Jetstar.

Total Taxes etc for two ABZ-SIN J award rtn are around £1400. Ouch!

In the past I have taken the best available J deal to KUL (usually on MAS or LH or KLM sale) and used Air Asia cheapies for KL-MEL or PER-KL etc.

edit: Actually, the deals were FROM KUL because I was already in Oz and knew I would use the return within the year.

Unfortunately I can't justify Business to Oz even when I'm on business, but I got away with the J returns from KUL because they were below the price radar.

So that's another tip - if you find a good deal to OZ one way, then look for rtn J deals to UK from SIN or KUL.

My last Y flight to Aus, last October, was part of an extended business trip based on an open jaw Y return going to ICN and back from SIN.

I "bridged the gap" from ICN to SYD by taking a very good value Philippine airlines deal that had 12hrs stopover in MNL.

As the stopover in MNL was midnight until noon next day, and good hotels near the airport are very reasonable cost, and ICN-MNL is only about 4hr, then MNL-SYD is 7hrs in daylight, it was a very relaxing way to get down under in Y with a nice sleep in between and no red-eye.

Actually, if you look at a map, MNL is better positioned for Australia east coast cities than SIN or KUL.

tc69

You could also try using the 241 to get to HYD or DEL. J Prices from HYD/DEL to MEL are about £1070 with MH, which are a bit cheaper than the PEK-SYD prices I think.

wytco0

I have spent the last 10 days or so trying to find a decent OW solution to getting to OZ hoping that I could find a reasonable PE fare but I can't find anything that I am prepared to pay for as I don't think £1000 above Y is worth it. So it looks as though I will be going in Y again ;-(

In that past I have always flown in Y to Oz and chosen to fly with whoever was cheapest, this time I think I will try and fly the most comfortable route as the price differences between carriers for Y fares is not very much.

Any recommendations for routing that are comfortable for a poor boy travelling in Y ;-)

Calum

CX via HKG

windowontheAside

I just did a quick visit to Jakarta in CX Y via HKG.

I was dreading it but actually had really good flights both ways. Yes, of course I'd rather be in a flat bed but the J prices were 5 times the economy fares and I found the seat pretty comfortable, food was great, CC very helpful and smiley, and personal space better than I'd expected.

It helped that being Gold, I got a bottle of water with a nice smile from the senior crew member, and an empty adjacent seat on each sector, but even without those perks I would have been pretty comfortable.

I even found myself thinking it's really not a bad way to travel and whether I should reconsider my personal travel policy!

FlyerTalker39574

The value test is what am I getting for 48hours of flying and how much does that cost per hour.

If I can get PE for £40 per hour or less then I'm happy.

ukgooner

If i understand the question right this is about earning - so just remember your earning of Avios at least is accelerated significantly if you are on a BA flight or codeshare if you have status.

Deltus

Have you got oneworld Sapphire or Emerald? If so, probably CX for the HKG lounges. However, I'd also seriously consider SQ - arguably the best Y in the world and you can get an A380 (on the LHR leg at least, haven't flown to SYD with them). SIN is my favourite airport for a layover - if it's >5 hrs you can get a free city tour, and you can pay about £12 to access the swimming pool on the roof of the airport, so have a swim, sunbathe and a shower in between your two flights. Not too bad...

wytco0

Interesting way of valuing it, when I was working I used to think that any hour rate that was less than I earned was reasonable as I could cover if by my own working but now I am semi retired I value things differently.

At the moment for the dates I am looking at and (10/3-20/5/18) with an OW carrier I can get a Y about £650,
PE about £1800+ and
J about £3300+

So considering that they all take same time to get to sydney I consider that Y is by far the best value ;-) I would be happy to pay a reasonable premium for PE (say double the Y cost) but not 3 times.

wytco0

Yes original question was about best way to earn miles/points hopefully by some creative routing however in reality there are not many options, the west route is not worth doing and the Y prices East are pretty close, the markup to PE is high and there doesn't seemt to be any great J available at the moment.

So now I am resigned to going in Y and so I am trying to work out the most comfortable route and timing.

I am a BA silver and I have about 130k Avios but there doesnt seem to be any way of using my Avios that gives decent value for the hop to sydney, I would rather save them for better value later.

wytco0

Yes I am BA silver, Cathy looks very good except that their prices are rather high for Y at the moment, I can get a BA/CX fare that is competitive but not a CX all the way one. Interestingly I am tending towards Singapore at the moment for similar reasons that you mention.

FlyerTalker39574

Y at £650 is ludicrously cheap, on a per flight hour basis it's cheaper than ryanair, but the frills are included!

£1800 for PE is a great price and even better value if it's a new PE on a newish aircraft type. Will the extra tier points help maintain your silver status?